Three Sikh Light Infantry jawans held for stabbing train passengers in Assam

Rangia (Assam): Three Army jawans allegedly stabbed two passengers on a train when the latter protested against defence personnel occupying all seats with their belongings at the Rangia railway station in Assam's Kamrup district on Thursday.

The government railway police (GRP) here said they took into custody the three jawans, adding that the military commanding officer from the army's Red Horns Mountain Division here was interrogating them.

The three accused jawans from the 3rd Sikh Light Infantry regiment have been identified as Subedar Balwant Singh and sepoys Bhupinder Singh and G Singh, GRP sources said.

The jawans had boarded the NJP-Moriani Siphung passenger train at New Jalpaiguri on Thursday morning and allegedly occupied all seats of the general compartment by force with their belongings, bags and boxes, compelling other passengers to travel standing.

Despite new passengers boarding the train at every station along the route and requesting them to clear the seats, the jawans refused to do so, the sources said.

When the train reached Rangia station and a large number of daily passengers boarded the train here, an altercation ensued when they asked the jawans to take their belongings off the seats, the sources added.

Suddenly, the jawans allegedly took out their knives and stabbed two passengers, injuring one of them seriously, the GRP sources said.The seriously wounded was identified as Kameswar Kalita and has been admitted to the Gauhati Medical College Hospital.

The chief of military police told the media that trouble began when the passengers beat up the three jawans and snatched their belongings.